


Dear Soong

by KiranInBlue



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 07:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiranInBlue/pseuds/KiranInBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Dr. Soong chooses a friendlier colony on which to finish his work - and Lore is given the chance to live, and never develops a psychotic streak in order to survive. Lore never kills Dr. Soong, and Dr. Soong is there to help guide Data in building Lal. And Juliana gets the daughter she always wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dear Soong

Dear Mother and Father,

I hope you are doing well.

Lal’s progress is continuing adequately. She has learned to recognize a number of human behaviors, including laughter, yawning, and several shows of affection. She continues to try to mimic these behaviors, with varying degrees of success, but nevertheless, I am impressed by her efforts.

Although Lal continues to have difficulty connecting with most of the children on board, she has made one friend. Wesley Crusher has taken to spending some of his free time teaching her various games on the holodeck, and Lal seems to enjoy his company. She spends a considerable amount of time telling me about what they have done together each day.

In other areas, Lal is facing significantly more difficulty. She appears to have trouble with some fine motor skills, and although they have improved somewhat, I am concerned. I recall that you faced similar challenges in the early development of my sister and I, but I am not aware of how you addressed the problem. Was directed practice adequate for our improvement, or did you have to make programming adjustments? I am aware you made many adjustments to our program soon after activation, but I am not certain if motor control was included in those adjustments.

I am grateful for all the help you have provided me in the construction of Lal. Without your guidance, she would have been at risk for cascade failure, and I cannot imagine losing her. She has enriched my life considerably in just the two weeks since her activation, and I find that I love her very deeply.  

We will be in your sector in a week. Will you be able to rendezvous with the Enterprise? Lal is eager to meet the rest of her family.

Your son,

Data 

* * *

 

Dearest Data,

It is so nice to hear from you, and I am so glad that Lal is doing well. Your father and I can’t wait to meet her! I’m in between projects at the moment, as my next research project is still going through the infuriating bureaucracy of committee approvals, so I might as well do something worthwhile with my time! As for the motor problems, we did need to make a few minor adjustments in your programming, but your sister Memory just needed time and practice. We’d have to see how Lal is doing ourselves to judge. We can certainly come visit you in two weeks, so we will check for you then.  

We’ve also been showing the other colonists that hologram of Lal you sent us a couple weeks ago, and they’re all very happy for you. Dr. Reynolds says that you must come visit when you have the chance – they all miss you very much.

The Daystrom Institute is still trying to convince your father to affiliate with them, but he isn’t having any of it. A couple of administrators actually tried to stop by last week when he refused to answer their messages, and he ended up chasing them out with a broom! It was very funny to watch – I wish I’d recorded it for you. To be fair, though, I can understand why the Institute is so irritated. Your father keeps helping out the students, giving the undergrad students tips and helping them to outshine their much seasoned professors. Of course, there’s nothing illegal about that, but I can understand why the Institute would find it annoying!

Have Memory or Lore had the chance to visit Lal yet? Lore has been so excited about the concept of having a niece; in the past several correspondences, he barely spoke about anything else! I hope he hasn’t been too wrapped up in his work with the sentient holoprograms to visit. I haven’t heard much from Memory though, lately, but I imagine she’s busy with her new duties as Security Chief. If you get in touch with her, do remind her to write home?

I am so excited to see you again, and to meet my new granddaughter! I’ll try to get your father to write you a letter sometime soon, but you know him – insists he’s never been good with words! You’ll see him next week at least, and even if he doesn’t say so, he’s excited as I am.

All my love,

Mom

* * *

Dear Brother,

Thank you for contacting me about the trouble Starfleet was giving you about Lal. I spoke to one of my associates at the Daystrom Institute, and managed to get a meeting with the head of the operation – I gave him a thorough tongue-lashing, complete with a beautifully described possible future in which I head every ethics committee for his research _ever_ and he never finds work again. I _don’t_ think they’ll be bothering you anymore. I have no idea why he even thought he could mess with the little brother of the Alpha Quadrant’s leading lawyer for the defense of artificial intelligence rights in the first place!

And thank you so much for the daily updates about Lal – I’m really sorry I haven’t had the chance to visit yet, but this case with the holoprograms should be done by next Thursday, so I’ll book passage with a Ferengi if I have to, but I’ll be on the _Enterprise_ by the end of the week. I just can’t wait to see her. She’s so sweet, really. I’m so proud of you, brother – and proud of her as well! Do pass that on, won’t you?

Lal wrote to me herself last night; I don’t know if she mentioned it (although, from what I’ve heard about how much she likes to talk, she probably has). She’s already asking some pretty intriguing questions – I don’t remember you or Memory passing into sentience so early. But she was an absolute sweetheart, and I swear, being called ‘Uncle’ is probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.

I’m really so jealous. If I weren’t travelling all over the galaxy – in multiple ships, unlike you, you lucky bastard – I might take a leaf out of your book. What would you think about having a niece or nephew or whatnot of your own, Data? But I suppose I’d have to settle down first, and there’s no one else who can fill my shoes at the moment. Too much important work to be done! I suppose for now, I’ll just have to live vicariously through you – hope you don’t mind too much!

And, by the way, do you have any suggestions of what I should bring for Lal when I visit? I’d like to bring her some sort of present, but I’m not sure what she’d like most. She seems to be excited to learn about everything, and if I _could_ bring her the universe, I would. But, as I am not (yet) a god, I’m trying to limit myself. Do you think she’d like a kitten? One of the ship cats over here just had a litter, and there’s one little orange tabby who hasn’t found a home yet.

Let me know as soon as possible!

Lots of love,

Lore

* * *

 Dear Data,

I got the message about your daughter. Congratulations! She’s very pretty, and, from what you described, is going to do pretty well I’m sure.

Thanks for the invitation to visit, but I’ll have to put off for a bit, sorry. I’m really so busy with my duties on the _Echo_ , and I don’t know how much the Captain would like me taking leave only a week after my promotion. I’ll try to see what I can do next month or so though.

Rodney says I’m an idiot, by the way, and asks if he can visit instead. (I think he’s joking?) Either way, you’ll be seeing him soon – mom demands to meet my new boyfriend every other sentence, and he’s just as eager to meet the famous Soong family. I don’t think I can keep them apart much longer if my life depended on it.

I’m due back on duty in ten minutes, so I’ll end this message here. I’ll talk to you more later.

Sincerely,

Memory

(P.S. Can you send another holo of Lal? Perhaps one with you, and the rest of the family if they’re there? Thanks.)

(P.P.S. I miss you.) 


End file.
